


Future Reflections

by zesulin



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age II
Genre: Children, M/M, Marriage, Nonbinary Anders, Trans Fenris, trans talks, uh i might write a little sequel ficlet but that's not likely, unreality cw maybe just in case, weird time travel sort of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-19
Updated: 2015-07-19
Packaged: 2018-04-10 03:34:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,313
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4375625
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zesulin/pseuds/zesulin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It was the soft sound of a snore, and gentle arms around the apostate's waist that stirred him. Anders, unaccustomed to bedmates, had to wonder if he had somehow drifted while at the Hanged Man, and ended up sleeping beside Isabela. But there was no familiar scent of the sea in the hair tickling his cheek, nor was there the soft, constant hubbub of the Hanged Man beneath his feet.</p><p>Anders finds himself awakening in a strange place, with the most unexpected of people.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Future Reflections

**Author's Note:**

> Uh this is silly and terrible I am sorry

It was the soft sound of a snore, and gentle arms around the apostate's waist that stirred him. Anders, unaccustomed to bedmates, had to wonder if he had somehow drifted while at the Hanged Man, and ended up sleeping beside Isabela. But there was no familiar scent of the sea in the hair tickling his cheek, nor was there the soft, constant hubbub of the Hanged Man beneath his feet. No-- instead, there was the gentle chirping of crickets, the sound of a fire crackling and dying across the room, and snoring from his bedmate. 

Confused, the apostate cracked his eyes open, squinting in the moonlight filtering through a small window nearby. He sat up slowly, head still heavy with sleep.  
The room he was in was unfamiliar, but somewhere, in the very back of his mind, a strangely recognizable-- wooden walls, a stone floor covered in rugs, worn from use; a small kitchen tucked away around a corner, herbs and various vegetables hanging from low rafters...on a wall nearby the bed he lay in, assorted bottles with neatly scrawled labels, indicating potions, and of what variety. But perhaps the most striking, the scent-- there was none of Lowtown's stink here, nor was there the green, distinct scent of Sundermount, ancient magic crackling in the very air. It was fresh, with an overhanging smell of well...mud and dog. Ferelden. Which was entirely impossible, considering it was miles and miles and a sea away. 

The apostate shook his head-- this must be a dream. But he certainly felt suddenly very awake, a chilling panic sinking it's way into him, gripping at his nerves and causing a shudder to run through him. This made absolutely no sense. There was none of the tired slowness of the Fade here, no taste of strange magic. The body beside him stirred as he trembled, his fingers knotting in the sheets-- they elicited a groan, oddly familiar in timbre. A chill ran up Anders' spine.

"...Andreas," said Fenris' voice, rough with sleep, "Is there something the matter?" a warm, lyrium-lined hand pawed gently at his arm, as if to pull him back down. "...Nightmares, again?" 

Anders found his mouth suddenly very dry, his throat nearly closing. He glanced sharply back, his eyes meeting soft, tired green ones, dark circles beneath them even more stark in the scant light of the moon. The elf had been curled against him, and in his absence, had unfurled and laid back against the pillows, silvery white hair splayed across them, longer than usual. His brows were loosely knit in half-awake concern, a grimace slowly creeping onto his face. "Anders?" he said again, tilting his head to the side a tad. 

"Fenris," the apostate breathed, swallowing hard. The elf frowned, seeming to suddenly be awakening fully. "Anders?" he said again, this time more sharply, this time even more concerned. 

"...Where...why are you...in bed with me, where is this--" Anders moved to stand, panic rising, only to be stopped by Fenris' hand on his sleeve, keeping him in place. He seemed strangely accustomed to this. 

"It was just a nightmare again, love. You are in Ferelden, in our home. I am your husband. There are no darkspawn here." there was a long pause, Fenris' hand gently running over his arm, oddly soothing-- though it did nothing to quell the confusion of his current situation. 

"What?" Anders said, perhaps a bit too loudly. "That's...that's not possible. You hate me. You hate mages, we can't possibly be...when I went to sleep, I was in Darktown. We even argued at the Hanged Man. You said I was dangerous, said some mages are better of Tranquil--" 

"...Pardon?" Fenris face screwed up in confusion, his nose crinkling wolfishly, drawing back just a bit as be began to sit up. "..I...do not understand." 

"You hate me! This...must be a dream, you are a demon of some sort--"

"No!" Fenris' voice rose, confusion and panic open on his own face. "I am not a--" 

Across the room, a shrill cry broke the air, making both men freeze. Fenris stood sharply, quickly striding to a small, wooden cradle in the corner of the room, and lifting gently a small bundle. "Hush," he cooed, taking a deep breath to calm down. "Hush, _parvula_ , I am here. There is no need for tears," the bundle continued to elicit cries, even as the elf hushed and cooed and rocked. Slowly, Fenris made his way to the bed, sitting on the edge.  
Anders stared, his mouth hanging open. 

"...She is hungry." Fenris said over his shoulder. "This will take a while." He opened his shirt, offering a breast for the child to feed from. The wailing was momentarily quieted, the babe closing her eyes, relaxing. 

 

It took the better part of half an hour to feed and put the baby back to sleep, with much uncharacteristic tenderness on the part of Fenris, though now, Anders could not be sure how uncharacteristic it really was. He seemed accustomed to it, here in this strange, future...alternate universe...place.  
Fenris looked exhausted by the time he returned to the bedside, running a hand through tangled white hair and letting out a long sigh. This time, Anders was the one to break the silence. 

"I didn't know that you were..."

"I am not a woman." 

"...I didn't figure, I mean...you know. Different. A bit like me."  
The elf quirked a small, tired smile. "No. I do not believe I told you until our relationship became more...serious."

"...Do you...know? About how I'm...not wholly a man?"

"You told me. I was...glad to not be alone." 

"You seem...very comfortable, though. If you don't mind me saying."

The elf shrugged, a graceful, almost catlike roll of the shoulders. "I have never...hated my body. It is strong. It has served me well. I bind only when necessary...I do not like...assumptions to be made, based on my body." 

"No, I don't figure that you do," Anders chuckled. "Neither do I." at length, he continued, "...When did we...get married?" 

"...Near three years ago, just after we left Kirkwall. After you..." Fenris frowned, huffing, and glanced away. "...Did something. I ran with you. We had been involved near four years at that point. I thought it was natural to...go, as well." the elf cast a glance at his hands, splaying his fingers out across his knee. His ring, engraved intricately, glinted in the moonlight. "We were married here, in Ferelden. There was no real ceremony, since we were on the run. Our friends were unable to attend, as it was better to spread out." he twisted his ring gently, smiling at it. "But we let them know."

"And the baby?" 

"Nine months ago. Her name is Ena." Anders couldn't help but smile, despite the strangeness of all of this. 

"When...exactly did we become involved?" 

"In the Deep Roads." Anders snorted at that, earning a peevish glance from Fenris.

"I haven't even gone yet." 

"Then it is coming...soon. Assuming that you can return." 

"Well, it would probably help if I went back to sleep. And Maker's Breath, Fenris, you look like you could use some sleep." the elf snorted. 

"There is little doubt in my mind I will be awakened at least once more tonight. But yes, I imagine sleeping again could hopefully-- but very well-- reverse this. We live in strange times." 

"Do we?"

"I can say no more." 

 

Anders drifted to sleep once more, entangled in Fenris' warm, lyrium-lined arms. The soft song from the veins and Fenris' rhythmic rubs on his back lulled him, the Fade welcoming him once more. Through the fog of sleep, however, the mage could have sworn he heard Fenris mumble a tired, sweet, 'I love you', before drifting off himself.

**Author's Note:**

> * parvula - little one, child (fem) [[reference](http://katiebour.deviantart.com/art/Tevene-Nouns-244470283?q=gallery%3Akatiebour%2F31655463&qo=3)]
> 
> come say hi on [tumblr](http://zesulin.tumblr.com) !!


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